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Swarm Co-ordinator’s Report

The BeeHolder, Summer 2014

We don't usually have a swarm co-ordinator's report, but the swarm situation this year has been unusual. This is from the minutes of the last committee meeting, rather than a report written just for BeeHolder. Ed

Many calls about swarms this year have not been about honey bees and many of the honey bee swarms have been inaccessible. Out of 185 calls and 11 e-mails, only 12 swarms were suitable for collection and only 5 were actually collected. One problem is that most people are out working during the day and by the time they are able to attempt collection the swarm has moved on. Another problem is that new beekeepers want swarms but often do not have the equipment ready to go out and collect them.

A new problem this year is bees attempting to access caravans through the ventilators (and then presumably head off for a short camping holiday in Cornwall. Ed).

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